Sermons

‘The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky. Are also on the faces, of people going by, I see friends shaking hands. Saying, “How do you do?” They’re really saying, “I love you”. I hear babies cry, I watch them grow, they’ll learn much more, than I’ll ever know. And I think to myself, what a wonderful world. Yes, I think to myself, what a wonderful world.’ Is that how you see the world? Try and explain that world to the parents of baby Stephen who dies during the birth process and no one knows why. ‘Imagine there’s no heaven It’s easy if you try No hell below us Above us only sky Imagine all the people living for today. Imagine no possessions I wonder if you can No need for greed or hunger. A brotherhood of man. Imagine all the people sharing all the world. Imagine all the people living life in peace,’ Is that how you see the world? John Lennon’s perfect world shattered by the murderous gunshots that took his life. For Job’s friends the world is a place of moral order; the wicked justly punished, the righteous abundantly blessed. Is that how you see the world? A troublesome Job and wild sovereign God overturn that picture of moral order. Sisters and brothers, your understanding of the world is not just a useful conversation starter over a latte at Bluebottles. Rightly understanding the world is vital for authentic Christian witness and mature Christian living. False understanding leads to inadequate answers. Hollow messages contradicted by human experience. Misrepresentation of the true, living God. Human interpretation, not understanding through divine revelation. By the revelation of God the tortured life of Job offers us an authentic believer, determined to rightly understand the world and the God he worships. In Job’s reply to his friends, ch21, 24 pivotal in seeing the world as it really is through the eyes of a true worshipper. Press the pause button. Defining ‘wicked’ is necessary for clarity of understanding. For Job’s friends ‘wicked’ is defined by life experience. The suffering are wicked. Regardless of outward lifestyle or relationship with God true nature is revealed by the presence of suffering. Job looks righteous on the outside but his suffering proves wickedness. That is how the inbuilt moral order of the world works. Job’s definition grounded in biblical revelation. The ‘wicked’are rebels against God. Defiantly opposed to God’s rule and loving service. At best interested only in any fringe benefits God offers. So in 21:14-15, ‘Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone! We have no desire to know your ways. Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him? What would we gain by praying to him?’ In ch21 Job draws three conclusions about the wicked. Reflecting life experience and the world as it is. A cruel world, distorted by sin, saturated in unfairness. Moral chaos not moral order. Job’s observation. Rebels against God are happy, rarely punished and prosper even in death. A stark contrast to the righteous Job. Job’s observation a general conclusion on the wicked not a case by case assessment. Job exposes the reality by asking questions amongst his observations. ‘Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?…. They spend their years in prosperity and go down to the grave in peace….. Yet how often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out? How often does calamity come upon them, the fate God allots in his anger?’ v7, 13, 17Verse 28 points to the belief system of Job’s friends: the wicked disappear under the judgement of God. In v29-33 Job highlights how this is not borne out in human experience. Even in death the wicked prosper. Dying peacefully, spared the horror of violent death. Not held to account for their behaviour. Sent from this world in grand funerals, people flocking to honour them. Brothers and sisters, it seems to me, Job’s got it right. Our present home is characterised by cruel injustice, gross and minor unfairness. Coyote smashes the Road Runner; The Joker triumphs over Batman. Kaos defeats Maxwell Smart and Agent 99 and Bruce Willis is unable to save the world over and over again. The reality: the wicked seem to get away with their rebellion while faithful saints struggle and suffer. Our regular cry, ‘it is not fair’, is not a whinge but a statement of fact. A true worshipper is not satisfied by this perversion of God’s world. A true worshipper longs for justice aching for the day when God ushers in his Kingdom in all its fullness and glory. A true worshipper prays, ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’ Just as Job echoes in ch 24. ‘Why does the Almighty not set times for judgment? Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?’v1 Job desires justice for victims of wickedness. ‘The groans of the dying rise from the city, and the souls of the wounded cry out for help. But God charges no one with wrongdoing.’ v12 God seems to be asleep on the job. The wicked overturn the order of God’s creation by turning their back on light, revelling in deeds hidden by darkness, consorting with the demonic. God seems inactive ‘For all of them, midnight is their morning;they make friends with the terrors of darkness.’ v17 Job knows God is good, powerful, just. He clings to the certainty of judgement unsure how and when it will be unveiled. ‘But God drags away the mighty by his power;though they become established, they have no assurance of life. He may let them rest in a feeling of security, but his eyes are on their ways. For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone; they are brought low and gathered up like all others; they are cut off like heads of grain.’v22-24 Job does understand the world as it is and as it will be. For whatever purpose God waits. But there will come a day when he waits no longer. ‘In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.’ Acts 17:30-31 Speaking of his impending death Jesus says, ‘Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ John 12:31-32 The Cross that saves is the cross that condemns Satan and those who throw their lot in with him. Brothers and sisters, four applications for our lives First, don’t be drawn into making false assessments of the spiritual health of Christians by a measure of current happiness or present sufferings. This is one of the errors of the prosperity gospel. In this cruel, unfair world often the wicked prosper and the believer suffers. Second, you will experience unfairness. Expect it. Plan for it to guard against disappointment with God or anger toward him that leads to bitterness and resentment. Third, desire justice; be filled with compassion for victims of injustice. As you are able stand up for justice with a maturity that recognizes perfect justice is not possible before the Lord returns. Fourth, don’t expend your energy trying to fix an unfair world. With all your energy, devote yourself to the radical transformation of the human heart through the gospel of grace. Call people to repentance and faith for the forgiveness of sin. Reconciliation with God is the only protection against the day of judgement when this unjust world will be transformed into a new world of perfect peace, justice and harmony.